Antiques dealers and other small business owners can seldom afford to hire an agency to develop their ads. For this reason, small businesses ads are almost always poorly written and ineffective. Nevertheless, small businesses are still in need of effective advertising. By following a few simple guidelines, antique dealers can produce...
business strategy
What antiques dealers can learn from junk mail
Behind the Gavel: How to get search engines to notice your antiques inventory descriptions
How to Get Search Engines to Pick Up Your Inventory - Behind the Gavel columnist Wayne Jordan shows us why as Internet search engines get better at promoting ‘content,’ antiques dealers who take the time to write good descriptions – or even slightly better descriptions – may find their website rank improving significantly.
The U.S. antiques trade needs a national association
About a year ago we made the call for the formation of a nation-wide group to promote and advertise the U.S. antiques trade. Although there appears to be some movement on the East Coast, the effort seems to have lost steam – such as the fate of many such efforts before it. In this...
Why the U.S. antiques trade needs a real national association
Unlike our counterparts across the pond, the U.S. antiques trade continues to operate without the benefit of a single group to promote the business and hobby. Wayne Jordan shows us why we won't succeed without one.
As antiques auctioneers change their business, collectors must ask themselves tough questions
Two features in the March 16 edition of Antique Trader highlight the challenging, yet opportunity-filled, present in which the antiques business finds itself. Starting with Wayne Jordan‘s column Behind the Gavel, a new Worthpoint survey of dealers shows their most effective promotional tools is the Internet (61 percent); trade shows (7 percent); word of...
Worthpoint survey: Small antique shops must adopt more strategies
I read with great interest Worthpoint’s 2011 Antiques & Collectibles Survey Results, released on Feb 14, 2011. Worthpoint is a leading provider of valuation and associated services for art, antiques and collectibles.
Dealers should use ‘retail anthropology’ to set traffic flow in antiques shops
Columnist Wayne Jordan asks: Have you noticed how the customers in your store walk? Most independent retailers give little thought to how their customers walk and move through their stores. These same retailers might be surprised to learn that there is a science dedicated to the study of how customers move within a retail...
Affordable tips for promoting your antiques business in 2011
Behind the Gavel columnist Wayne Jordan says central to gaining more customers and making more sales is building store traffic. Antiques dealers have the same challenges as other retailers: how to build awareness for their business and get more customers in the door. This month, I'll share some promotions that retailers in other businesses...
Can your antiques appraisals land you in court?
Can your antiques appraisal land you in court? Yes, says Behind the Gavel antiques trade columnist Wayne Jordan. It's well established that one of the root causes of the recent crisis in U.S. banking was over-inflated and poorly researched appraisals. Poorly executed personal property appraisals can result in negative fallout as well. Here's...